Found Me
by HOAWhovian17
Summary: The Doctor searches for Clara. Meanwhile, Clara keeps drawing strange images from a dream she keeps having. Then, one night, the dream becomes real. Set after The Snowman, but takes place in what I imagine for the beginning of the second half of season 7


**Summary: Clara Oswin Oswald is drawing strange creatures and images from a dream she has had. A dream that has repeated every night since Christmas Eve. Will a stranger in the night help her make sense of them or will she get swept away in the excitement?**

** Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the characters. That belongs to the BBC and Steven Moffatt.**

** Note: Takes place in April, when the second half of series 7 is set to begin**

** Enjoy xoxo**

**Found Me**

She was waiting. She didn't know what for, but Clara Oswin Oswald was waiting. Ever since Christmas Eve that year, she had felt something in her heart telling her to wait for something. Something that would change her life. The only problem was…she didn't know what it was.

It was the second Saturday in April. The sky was clear and a beautiful blue, not a cloud in the sky, and the sun beat down, warming her skin. There was a light breeze going through the trees and lifting the scents of the flowers up to fill her senses. It was all in all a beautiful day, but Clara wasn't focused on the day. She was more focused on the notebook on her lap as she continued to draw the weird, amazing, remarkable images from her dream.

"Clara?" her friend Nina asked, walking into the backyard and looking over her shoulder at what Clara was drawing. It was what looked to be a snowman with wickedly sharp teeth. "Still drawing?" she asked, noticing the familiar phrases added with the drawings that scattered the whole book. Things like 'I never know why—I just know who' or 'run you clever boy, and remember'. It was confusing since Clara kept her dream to herself. That was until one day when Nina managed to get it out of her.

Clara jumped slightly at the sound of her friend's voice and stopped her drawing, putting the pencil in the page of the book and closing it before looking up. "Yeah. I just can't seem to get that dream out of my head. It's always the same one every night. Like it's on repeat or something" she explained, leaning her head back and closing her eyes, getting the crick out of her neck from having leaned her head over the book.

"Yeah, cause we all have the same dream about a strange man in 1868 Victorian London wearing a top hat, waist coat, and bow tie who saves the world from evil snowman" Nina teased, shaking her head.

Clara blushed, biting her lip, "You're forgetting the part where I'm a cockney barmaid and also a prim and proper governess before I die" she muttered.

"Oh, yes, your death," Nina says, nodding her head, "you know what always bugs me about that?" she asked.

"I don't know, what?" Clara asked, turning to her.

"That that doctor of yours didn't save you. If he was so powerful, why couldn't he have saved you?" Nina asked quietly.

"He was in shock. He had just opened his heart to me, to allow someone else in, and he didn't expect that ice woman to come up to the cloud so quickly" Clara explained, her heart squeezing. She felt like Nina questioning her Doctor was an insult to her as well as The Doctor. She had no doubt he would have saved her if he hadn't been so shocked, but sometimes she felt like he should have saved her.

"So, have you gotten the drawing of him perfect yet?" Nina asked to change the subject.

Clara shrugged, picking up her book and flipping the pages to a picture of him. He stood tall with floppy hair and a chin that could poke someone's eyes out, and wore a top hat, waist coat, a bow tie, and dress pants with boots. She always smiled when she saw the picture, feeling as if it were a calming presence to her. "I think I've got it as perfect as I could" she said, showing the picture to Nina.

Nina took the book out of her hand and looked at the picture as well as something long and cylindrical next to him as words like 'Eyes front, soldier' and 'Imagine them melting, Clara'. "He looks handsome" Nina shrugged, "Not my type, but he's still sorta hot."

Clara laughed, "I guess" she said.

"Oh you so like him. Why else would you draw a picture of a girl that looked like you and him kissing as well as words saying he blushed?" Nina teased.

Clara childishly stuck out her tongue at her friend before taking her book back and going back to her drawing of the army of killer snowmen. She barely registered Nina telling her she was going to the store, only nodding her head in acknowledgment before flipping the page in her book and starting the intricate drawing of the woman who always caused her death in her dream.

It always made a shiver to crawl up her spine at the image of the woman and found she was looking around just to make sure she wasn't there. "Calm down, Oswald. She's just an image in a dream. She's not real" she muttered, shaking her head.

There was a nagging voice in her head thought that asked: _**Then why does it feel so real?**_

**Line Break**

The Doctor was in the TARDIS trying to find any hint of his Clara, the woman who had been able to thaw out his previously frozen heart and give him every reason to get reintroduced to the world around him again. He had promised her that he would not go back to his cloud after her death and he had followed through. Instead, deciding it was time to find her and make good on her promise.

He stood still in the middle of the TARDIS as thoughts of their promise took over him,

_**If I save the world, will you come with me? **_he had asked. She had promised that she would and that had been all that was needed to give him his strength.

The TARDIS hummed excitedly, shocking him back into reality, "What is it, Old Girl?" he asked. The TARDIS showed him an image on the screen. It was of a girl with a black dress with white flowers that went to her knees, her straight, shoulder length brown hair covering her face as she drew in her book. It showed her drawing for a long moment before she looked up and he heard her say, "Why is it so real?"

The Doctor smiled, "Clara Oswald," he muttered excitedly as he ran around the console to set the coordinates, "time to bring you in from the cold."

**Line Break**

Clara was in bed that night looking up at the ceiling. She had had the dream again, but instead of going through the whole dream, it stopped on her promise to go with him and then went back to when she had kissed The Doctor.

The thing, though, was that this time something had changed. Instead of waking up with a feeling like something was clawing at the back of her mind waiting to get free, it was as if it were set free. She knew who she was now, but also who she was then. She was Clara Oswin Oswald, the girl who had brought The Doctor back from his cloud and given him a reason to investigate. She remembered sitting in Fanny and Digby's room telling them the story about a man on a cloud whose sole purpose was to stop all the children in the world from having bad dreams.

Clara pulled back her blanket and went to the window, looking out at the beautiful night. "When are you coming for me, Doctor?" she asked, "We had made a deal."

After a few more moments, she went downstairs to get a glass of water. Something seemed wrong though. Something in her told her to go to the backyard, so she went out the sliding glass door and stopped when she saw a blue police public phone box. It was painted, not chipped and worn as it had been, and it seemed to have an unearthly glow in the night.

Clara smiled and ran upstairs, getting dressed in a red quarter sleeved dress with a black belt and sneakers. She then quickly packed up some of her clothes and shoes as well as her IPod and book before going back downstairs.

"Hello, Clara Oswald" The Doctor said at the foot of the steps.

Clara stopped, her heart beating erratically in her chest as she dropped her bags on the steps and ran down the rest, throwing her arms around The Doctor's neck and holding onto him tightly. "You came for me" she said happily, feeling the threat of tears.

The Doctor laughed, squeezing her tightly, "Of course I did. We made a deal, remember?" he asked.

Clara smiled and buried her head in the crook of his neck, "I remember" she muttered, knowing he would understand what she meant.

The Doctor felt wetness on his neck and pulled back, looking at his Clara's face and seeing the sadness in her eyes and the tears falling down her face. He unwound his arms from around her and reached up to cup her cheek, wiping away the tears with the pads of his thumbs, "Don't cry" he asked, pressing his forehead to hers.

Clara shook her head, "They're not sad tears," she whispered, her throat thick from the tears, "they're happy tears. You finally found me" she said, smiling widely and throwing her arms around his neck, burying her head in the crook of his neck.

"Of course I found you" he said, kissing the side of her head.

Clara smiled and buried herself closer to him, reveling in his warmth that seeped into her skin and allowing herself to feel peace. "I'm so glad you did" she whispered, "I missed you."

"I missed you too" he muttered, pulling back again. He looked in her brown eyes that held both the past and the present. He couldn't help but smile as he dug in his jacket pocket and pulled something out, holding it in his clasped hand, "I believe this is yours" he said, opening his hand.

Clara's eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat as she hesitantly reached out for the key. "You…is it…?" she asked.

The Doctor shook his head, "No, the original one I gave you is buried with you. This one is completely yours" he told her, clasping onto her hand.

Clara squeezed his hand and took the key, "I know just where to put this" she said, taking the chain of the necklace she wore around her neck and unclasping it, threading the key to lay alongside the golden heart pendent that was on it. She then clasped it around her neck and put it back under her dress, "There" she said, smiling, "Now, I think you promised me some adventures?" she asked.

The Doctor smiled, "That I did" he said, nodding his head, "Go get your things and meet me in the TARDIS" he told her, gently pushing her back towards the stairs.

Clara got her things and then walked back outside and stood in front of the TARDIS, "Here we go" she said, taking a deep breath and pushing the door open with her elbow. The interior was just as she remembered from years and years ago, but could have just been a moment for him. "Wow, it's just as I remember" she muttered.

The Doctor smirked, "Well, in here it's only been about two weeks since you left. I've been going everywhere looking for you" he said, pouting, "You're a very hard girl to find, Clara Oswald."

Clara smiled and put her things near the door, walking over to The Doctor and wrapped her arms around his neck, "But I'm so worth it" she said, smiling innocently and kissing his cheek, but The Doctor turned his head, looking as if he were about to say something, and her lips caught his.

At first it had surprised her, and she'd had half a mind to back away and ramble about it being an 'accident', but when The Doctor put his arm around her waist, pulling her body flush against his and deepened the kiss, she melted, completely letting go and just living in the moment. She was with The Doctor, her Doctor, and they were going on the adventures she had dreamed about for months. Add to that this moment right now, and nothing could have made it more perfect.

When they pulled apart, their foreheads pressed together, The Doctor smiled, "Now who's blushing" he teased, kissing her forehead.

"So you're not denying that you were blushing then, huh?" Clara asked, smiling from ear to ear.

The Doctor laughed, "Always have to be right, don't you?" he asked.

Clara shrugged, "Not all the time" she replied before reaching up and kissing him again "You know," she said after a moment, "if this is how things are going to be, I think I could get used to this."

"Me too" he whispered before spinning out of her arms and walking towards the screen. He was whispering something so quietly that she couldn't hear, but then looked up at her after pressing buttons and pulling levers, "You ready?" he asked.

Clara walked over to him and threaded her arm through his and linking her hand with the one that he had on top of the lever. Together, they pulled it down and the TARDIS shook as it entered the vortex. Both laughed in amusement and happiness. They were off.


End file.
